The use of ozone for cleaning and sanitizing laundry has been known for quite some time. The primary reason is that ozone is generally recognized as being effective in cleaning as well as deodorizing and sanitizing laundry while minimizing impact to the environment. With respect to commercial applications, ozone is generally a preferred cleaning component as it is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and quite reliable in disinfecting and deodorizing laundry.
As is well known, the application of ozone to a cleaning fluid, such as water, acts as a disinfectant as well as assists with removing dirt, debris and other contaminants from the laundry detergent so that the laundry detergent can again be effective in removing dirt, debris and other contaminants from the clothing or other laundry being laundered.
While it is known that dissolving ozone in a liquid, such as water, will assist with improving the cleaning and sanitization efficiency of the water, a number of the currently available prior art systems suffer a variety of associated drawbacks. In particular, a portion of the ozone which is added to the water does not become completely dissolved within the water so that it can not directly contact any substance(s) dissolved or contained within the water. As a result, the undissolved ozone rapidly gasses off, dissipates and/or evaporates from the water as soon as the water enters into a reservoir or some other expansion chamber, for example. Accordingly, such undissolved ozone is not effective cleaning and/or disinfecting and thus not all of the ozone, which is added to the water, is active or effective in achieving the desired cleaning and/or sanitization intended by the ozonated water.
It is to appreciated that washing laundry can be a relatively expensive process. It utilizes costly resources—water, energy, detergents and labor and such laundering is often not only required to clean but also to disinfect the laundered items. While conventional detergents and soaps can be effective in removing dirt, grease, grime and other contaminants, they are not always effective in killing germs and bacteria. The application of ozone to the water is known to enhance the disinfection capabilities of conventional detergents and soaps. Ozone generally improves cleaning of laundry, even at cold water wash temperatures, and also has an antibacterial effect.